How to Find a Product Liability Attorney

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.

There are 18 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

When you are injured by an unreasonably dangerous or defective product, you are entitled to compensation from the manufacturer and others (such as distributors). In order to get compensation, you should find an experienced product liability attorney who can represent you. To find an attorney, ask friends or family if they have ever used a product liability attorney. You can also check with your local bar association or with another lawyer and ask for a referral.

Use databases. There are many databases on the Internet you can use to find product liability attorneys. For example, the Lawyers.com website has a database of products liability attorneys you can search.[1]

Click on your state and then city. A list of law firms and attorneys will pull up.

You will be provided with a link to their website, as well as a client rating and a peer rating.

Ask another lawyer for a referral. You might have used a lawyer in the past for a divorce or for a real estate closing. You can contact that attorney and ask for a referral for a lawyer who can handle your case.[2]

Other lawyers are a good source of referrals. Lawyers know the reputations of other attorneys and can guide you in the direction of a qualified product liability lawyer.

Call your lawyer and briefly describe your problem: what product injured you and how badly. The lawyer can use this information to connect you to a qualified lawyer.

Ask people you know. Family, friends, colleagues, and members of your church might have used a product liability attorney in the past.[3] You should ask them to tell you a little bit about their experience and whether or not they would recommend their lawyer.

Be sure to ask what they liked about the lawyer. People have different needs. For example, your neighbor might have loved his attorney because he charged a low fee. However, you might be more interested in a lawyer who can communicate effectively with you and who will let you participate in making decisions.

Call your local or state bar association. You can find your bar association by typing “bar association” and your state or county into an Internet search engine. They can give you a referral for one or more lawyers.[4]

Each bar association runs a little differently. With some, you can call a phone number and be connected to a lawyer.

Other bar associations allow you to search a database of attorneys. You can search by specialty. Typically, lawyers who practice products liability cases will list “product liability” as their specialty, but sometimes they will list “personal injury.”[5]

Perform research on the lawyers. Once you have a list of possible lawyers, you should do some preliminary research on them to see if they have the necessary experience. Visit their website and note the following:

Has the lawyer handled product liability cases before? A lawyer should list his or her relevant experience. Look to see how many product liability cases the lawyer has handled and whether or not they were recent cases.

Is the lawyer a certified specialist? Some states allow lawyers to get certified as “personal injury” specialists. In order to qualify as a specialist, lawyers must typically commit a certain percentage of their practice to personal injury and take advanced continuing legal education classes. They also usually have to pass a written exam.[6]

Is the website professional looking? A lawyer who hasn’t taken the care to put together a professional-looking website might be careless when handling your case. Pay attention to spelling mistakes, typos, and poor grammar. These are signs you should avoid the attorney.

Call to set up a consultation. Once you have narrowed your list to two or three lawyers, you should schedule a consultation to meet with each. Typically, attorneys offer 15-30 minute consultations where you can meet to discuss your case and ask questions.[8]

You might have to have a telephone consultation, especially if the lawyer is very busy or if you live in a rural area far away from the lawyer.

Most consultations should be free. However, you shouldn’t exclude a lawyer solely because he or she charges a fee. Typically, the fee will be very modest ($25 or so). One advantage of meeting with a lawyer who charges a fee is that the lawyer might spend more time with you. Also, the lawyer might be willing to share tips you can use if you choose to represent yourself.

Ask how the lawyer will staff the case. Even a solo attorney usually has support staff, and an office with two or more attorneys usually has several people working along with the lawyers. Many of these people will help with your case. You should ask the lawyer who else works in the office and what their role will be.

Will you be assigned a case manager? If so, how often will the case manager call you to check in and keep you updated on your case?

Will junior attorneys work on the case or will only the lawyer you are meeting with? Who will assign work?

Does the lawyer work with a regular set of expert witnesses? How much do expert witnesses cost?

Discuss the lawyer’s fees. You should discuss the lawyer’s fee structure.[11] Usually, a product liability attorney will represent plaintiffs on contingency. This means that the lawyer doesn’t charge a fee. Instead, he or she takes a cut of any amount that you win at trial or in a settlement.[12] Typically, an attorney will take up to 40% of the total amount.

Also get a sense of what costs you must pay. For example, you will probably have to pay filing fees and fees related to court reporters and expert witnesses. You should ask the lawyer whether these costs must be paid upfront or if you can wait and have them deducted from any jury award.[13]

If you are defending against a product liability case, then you will probably pay an hourly rate for the lawyer’s services. There is no contingency fee agreement for defendants because you don’t win any money.

Ask about the lawyer’s experience. The lawyer’s website should have already given some detail about the lawyer’s experience. During the consultation, you can dig deeper.

Has the lawyer handled cases involving the product at issue?[14] For example, if you were injured by a defective automobile, then you might not want to hire a lawyer whose products liability experience has been limited to defective surgical devices.

How many cases does the lawyer take to trial? What percentage of cases settle before trial?

What is the lawyer’s philosophy about settlement. Does he or she prefer to settle? Would this case be the type of case that settles?

On average, how much do cases settle for? Around 50% of what you initially ask for? More than 80%?

Read reviews. Many websites, such as Avvo and Yelp, now have reviews for lawyers. You might be tempted to read reviews before meeting with a lawyer for a consultation. However, you might benefit by waiting. You don’t want reviews to prejudice you (in either way) before meeting the lawyer.

Remember that reviews can be slanted. Generally, those who have had a negative experience are more motivated to write an online review, especially if it is anonymous.[15]

Look for patterns in the reviews. If you felt during the consultation that the lawyer struggled to make legal concepts simple, then you should check reviews to see if your concerns are mirrored there. If they are, then you might want to exclude the attorney from your list of potential hires.

Remember how you were treated. The key to a successful attorney-client relationship is communication. Remember your consultation and how comfortable you felt. You will want to hire a lawyer who you feel comfortable talking to.

Did you feel you could ask any question, no matter how basic? If not, then you probably should not hire the lawyer. You want someone who explains issues in an understandable way so that you can participate meaningfully in your case.

Did the lawyer judge you? A lawyer who makes you feel embarrassed about your actions will not be an effective advocate. Specifically, you will probably hesitate to share information with the lawyer, which will undermine the lawyer’s ability to represent you.

Was the lawyer’s staff friendly? And did they treat you with respect?[16] A lawyer who employs rude staff probably does not care about the well-being of her clients.

Was the lawyer’s office messy or neat and tidy?[17] A chaotic or messy office might signal a lawyer who is not sufficiently organized to represent you effectively.

Make a choice. The decision of what lawyer to hire is up to you. Consider all relevant factors and trust your gut:

Experience. You might want a lawyer with extensive experience representing people who have been injured by a similar product.

Communication style. You should feel comfortable talking to the lawyer. When this factor is missing, you might want to skip the lawyer regardless of his experience.

Price. Although you shouldn’t make a decision solely on price, you nevertheless should consider it. You might want to hire a younger lawyer with less experience who agrees to take only 30% of your jury award over a far more experienced lawyer who insists on taking 45%--especially when you feel more comfortable with the younger lawyer.

Overall comfort. This is your “gut.” If you are leaning toward one lawyer over another, then you should trust your instincts provided the lawyer’s experience, communication style, and pricing are also acceptable.

Call the lawyer you select. After making a decision, call and say you want to hire the lawyer. He or she will tell you what next steps you must take.

Also let any other attorney you met with know that you have chosen to go with a different candidate. You can politely thank them for their time but say that you chose a different lawyer. You don’t need to give a reason why.

Sign an engagement letter. Once you hire a lawyer, he or she should send you an engagement letter. This letter explains in detail the work the lawyer has agreed to do for you (and what he or she won’t do). The letter should also contain information about how the lawyer stores your files and what costs you might be assessed for photocopying and other tasks.[18]

Read the engagement letter thoroughly as soon as you receive it. If you don’t understand something in the letter, then call the attorney and ask for clarification.

If you disagree with something in the letter, then discuss your disagreement with the lawyer before signing. Should the lawyer have to change the engagement letter, wait for a new letter to arrive and throw the old one away.

After you sign, keep a copy of the engagement letter for your records.

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Community Q&A

If you are a manufacturer or retailer with products liability insurance, then your insurance company might defend you against any lawsuit. If so, the insurance company will probably pick the lawyer who will represent you.

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD. Clinton M. Sandvick worked as a civil litigator in California for over 7 years. He received his JD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 and his PhD in American History from the University of Oregon in 2013.